HAMMERFALL Guitarist Says He Tried Writing Songs Outside His Comfort Zone For 'Dominion' Album

Guitarist Oscar Dronjak of Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL spoke with "The Metal Teddy Bear Experience", a program on Montclair State University's student radio station WMSC 90.3, prior to the band's November 2 concert at PlayStation Theater in New York, New York. You can listen to the entire chat via the SoundCloud widget below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether he thinks about how a song will translate live when songwriting:

Oscar: "Yes. Every song. I do that with every song. We don't play every song, but I do that with every song, it has been since day one. Everything needs to be able to be played live. Of course, you can't have the acoustic guitars, for example. You can, but it will be a hassle. But, apart from that, the important parts of a song — if you take away something that you recorded in a studio and the song remains the same, then you can play it live."

On whether HAMMERFALL uses backing tracks while performing live:

Oscar: "We do have some, but they're mostly intro stuff like a motorcycle engine revving for 'Renegade', some backing vocals in some songs to make it fatter onstage, but not many other things like that."

On how HAMMERFALL navigates having to replicate parts live that originally have an acoustic guitar:

Oscar: "It's so much easier to have it on tape then to actually bring an acoustic guitar, to mic it up, to soundcheck, to make sure everything works, then switch guitars. That's why people do that. Maybe it's a bit lazy, but also the technique of modern times."

On what was different about the creation of their new studio album, "Dominion":

Oscar: "Songwriting, for sure. I tried a lot of different things. The major thing was to try to write songs outside of my comfort zone, which means, outside of my home, my studio, not be in there all the time, and just try something new. I tried writing songs on the road while touring and also on vacation when inspiration [strikes]."

"Dominion" was released in August via Napalm Records.

HAMMERFALL recently announced a fall 2020 North American headline tour. The tour starts September 14, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida and runs through October 19, 2020, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Support will come from BEAST IN BLACK and EDGE OF PARADISE.